Stephanie Koontz, one of my favorite social historians, WARNS HERE about the potential pitfalls of nostalgia:

In personal life, the warm glow of nostalgia amplifies good memories and minimizes bad ones about experiences and relationships, encouraging us to revisit and renew our ties with friends and family. It always involves a little harmless self-deception, like forgetting the pain of childbirth.

In society at large, however, nostalgia can distort our understanding of the world in dangerous ways, making us needlessly negative about our current situation.

(Snip)

Thereís nothing wrong with celebrating the good things in our past. But memories, like witnesses, ... Read more